| 18+ | Damian looked so different with his shirt off and a crop in his hand. He felt more real: no longer wearing the mask of the good doctor, he was the Exorcist, the master over my wildest fears, the stones on the shore over which my ocean of ma...
We set the table and lit the candles, tall white wax ones in golden tapers. I refused to let Damian into the dining room until everything had been laid out, so that when I finally opened the doors and he laid eyes on the feast for the first time, I saw the utter shock on his face.
"You've outdone yourselves," he said, surveying the length of the table with its crowning roast bird surrounded by steaming vegetables, the pies, the oysters, the puddings and potatoes. He smiled, and when he turned that beaming expression on me I was almost too flustered to think. "It looks beautiful."
Luckily by the time our guests arrived I had changed out of my soiled clothes and into a pale gray dress, the corset accented with pearls and little silver beads. Liza, Mary-Anne, and Genevieve arrived together, all red-painted lips and bulging bosoms, true girls of the Doll House. I almost wept to see them, to embrace them again. I could feel my face growing hot as their mouths dropped open looking about the house, taking in the fine artwork, polished floors, and massive windows.
"This is where you're living?" Genevieve gasped, staring at the portrait of Amma in the hall. "It's like a mansion! Is this all his? The...doctor's?"
"It is," Damian strode down from the first landing, making us all jump. He had changed into a trim corduroy jacket of deep navy blue, his pointy-toed boots polished to a high shine. A familiar feeling of lust instantly clutched my stomach at the sight of him. To imagine what those hands had done to me...
Those hands wrapped around me now: affectionately, possessively. The ladies controlled their expressions carefully throughout their introductions, but I could see the curiosity in their eyes. They wanted details. They were dying to ask. But first there was rum punch to be served and cigars to be smoked. Octavio arrived, and was instantly embarrassed to be in the company of so many women. The ladies, bless them, couldn't resist a shy boy and Octavio was soon blushing from head to foot, gulping his wine. Alex arrived shortly after, and Jacobi made his silent presence known soon after that. His face was still carefully wrapped in his customary dark scarf, but he'd put on a black jacket with a little sprig of baby's breath in the lapel, and the sight made me smile.
I drifted among the guests as if in a dream, making conversation, gossiping with the girls. I was on a high just from the experience of - what could I call this? Was this normalcy? Was this the life others had lived while I knelt near my parents feat and listened to papa recite verses every holiday? Of course this occasion was grand, far grander than many could hope for, but even the simple act of gathering friends together felt monumental. And then to feel Damian's eyes on me from across the room, or to have him catch me in the hall and kiss me -
I could forget the horrors for a while. This was the life I so desired. This peace, such simple things like shared drinks and easy laughter. The voices within murmured, but my happiness was too high to allow them to intrude. Not now. Not today. These moments were mine.
We gathered round the table and Damian carved the roast. Seeing him smile between every bite - I wanted more of that. When had just seeing his happiness become such a drug for me? I suppose, after seeing so much of his pain, his joy was a sight to behold.
I did wonder, briefly, what the ladies would do if they knew they were dining in the home of the Storyville Killer. The moniker felt so wrong now, but how could one ever hope to explain such circumstances? If I had not been experiencing the horrors of possession myself, I would not have believed it. The thought, however fleeting, sobered me slightly. Today was joyful but I still had no idea what tomorrow would bring.
But for now, in that moment, joy was all I needed.
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A/N: This book is over 100,000 words now!!! I can hardly believe it! Thank you so much to everyone who has read so far, even before the book is completed. I appreciate all of you so much! I'll have a second update coming for you tomorrow!
